the second consecutive season the Wizards have defeated Dallas by a 5-1 scoreline at home. The winner will return to the semifinals for the first time in two seasons -- the Burn have reached the U.S. Open Cup Final once (winning on penalties in 1997), while the Wizards have never played for the Dewar Cup.
KANSAS CITY WIZARDS:
The Kansas City Wizards moved past their first test in the U.S. Open Cup for just the third time in eight appearances, hitting back with two goals in two minutes early in the second half to ease past A-League side Atlanta Silverbacks 4-1 in Clarkston, Ga., on July 20. ... Davy Arnaud hit for the first of his two goals in the 12th minute, before former MLS MVP Alex Pineda Chacon hammered a free kick through the wall to level terms (40). But after the break, Arnaud tapped home a loose ball from a corner kick (52), then two minutes later, Francisco Gomez hit a wicked first-time volley of an Arnaud cross to double the Wizards lead. Diego Gutierrez then finished off the match in the 81st minute when he rocketed home a shot from inside the area. ... Here's Bob Gansler's team: Tony Meola (Bo Oshoniyi 71); Nick Garcia, Taylor Graham (Alex Zotinca 46), Jimmy Conrad, Jose Luis Burciaga Jr.; Chris Klein, Kerry Zavagnin, Diego Gutierrez, Francisco Gomez (Khari Stephenson 75); Davy Arnaud, Josh Wolff (Justin Detter 63) ... It took five tries for Kansas City to record their first victory in Open Cup play. The Wizards came into the competition at the quarterfinals in 1996, but lost 3-2 to the Colorado Rapids. ... After the '96 loss, Wizards lost to lower division competition in 1997 (1-2 to San Francisco Bay Seals, D3), 1998 (1-3 to Nashville Metros, A-League) and 2000 (on penalties to Chicago Sockers, PDL). ... The Wizards have met MLS competition three times in Open Cup play - and have yet to win. They also lost in 2001 to Chicago Fire in the third round, and in 2002 in the semifinals to Columbus Crew. ... A year ago, the Colorado Rapids claimed a 3-2 victory in Aurora, Colo., in the third round (Igor Simutenkov 10, 48 pen - John Spencer 39 pen, 67; Henderson 58). ... Their best success in the Open Cup came in 2002, when they defeated the Rochester Rhinos away in the third round in a stunning comeback, (Suarez 5, Wilson 63 - Fabbro 86, Simutenkov 90, Brown 105). They then defeated Milwaukee (A-League) 2-0 in the quarterfinals before falling to Columbus Crew 3-2 through a golden goal (Buddle 76; Perez 92+, 108 - McCarty og 2; Brown 62).
DALLAS BURN:
The Dallas Burn advanced to the quarterfinals of the U.S. Open Cup when they knocked out the Colorado Rapids for the second time in three seasons, a quality 3-0 victory against the Colorado Rapids at the Cotton Bowl on July 20. ... The Burn scored all three goals in a 15-minute blitz after the hour mark. Ronnie O'Brien gave the Burn a 60th-minute lead with a clinical finish from the heart of the penalty area, then Eddie Johnson grabbed the first of his two goals when he hammered home the rebound of an O'Brien shot that came back off the post (67). Johnson capped off the scoring when he finished off a breakaway after he was sent in alone by Ramon Nuñez in the 75th minute. The Rapids finished the game with 10 men when Nat Borchers was sent off. ... Here's Colin Clarke's team: Jeff Cassar, Carey Talley, Cory Gibbs, Clarence Goodson, Matt Behncke, Ronnie O'Brien (Bobby Rhine 80'), Simo Valakari (David Wagenfuhr 84'), Oscar Pareja (Ramon Nunez 74'), Brad Davis, Jason Kreis (Jordan Stone 74'), Eddie Johnson .... In the third round this year, the Dallas Burn eased to a 2-0 victory against the A-League Virginia Beach Mariners in Duncanville, Texas on June 30, getting goals three minutes apart midway through the first half from Toni Nhleko (20) and Ronnie O'Brien (23). ... As one of the two MLS clubs to fail to reach the playoffs last year, the Burn began in the round-of-32 this year along with the Columbus Crew, a round ahead of the remaining eight clubs in the league. ... The Burn had knocked out the Rapids in the quarterfinals in 2002, Dallas winning 1-0 on a Ronnie O'Brien golden goal (111) in Texas. ... That year was the last of three occasions when the Burn reached the semifinals, then losing to the Los Angeles Galaxy 4-1 after a pair of golden goal winners in the third round and quarterfinal. ...Twice in the past four seasons, the Dallas Burn had failed at the first hurdle in the U.S. Open Cup to lower-division clubs. Last season, after taking an early lead, the Burn lost 4-1 to third division (PSL) Wilmington Hammerheads,while in 2001, the Burn lost 3-2 in extra time to Seattle Sounders Select of the fourth division PDL. ... The Burn were also eliminated by lower division opposition in 1999, when the A-League Rochester Raging Rhinos dumped them out at the quarterfinal stage. ... The only honor in Burn club history came in the 1997 U.S. Open Cup, when they claimed the Dewar Cup on penalties after a scoreless draw against D.C. United in the final. ... The Dallas Burn are the only team in MLS history to participate in the U.S. Open Cup in each of the nine seasons of the league.
